Today, 14 of the 42 governments at the London Anti Corruption Summit recognised the importance of open data to fight corruption in public procurement by agreeing to adopt the Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS).

The Web Foundation worked with the Open Contracting Partnership and Omidyar Network to create the standard, and we have pushed for its adoption as one of our three key objectives for this summit alongside a Global Beneficial Ownership Register and the Open Data Charter.

Governments around the world spend an estimated US $9.5 trillion each year in contracting but, until now, data relating to these contracts has largely been inaccessible. The OCDS gives governments a common format and set of practical tools which will allow them to publish contracting data consistently and openly. The OCDS will help to ensure public contracting is transparent and efficient, allowing businesses to compete effectively, governments to improve service delivery and citizens to understand how their money is being spent.

Open Data Programme Director José Alonso commented:

“This is an excellent step in the right direction. We’re proud of the Web Foundation’s role in creating the standard, and would like to congratulate our colleagues at the Open Contracting Partnership on this milestone.

But our work is far from over. According to the latest Open Data Barometer, only 8% of countries publish fully open data on government contracts. We need the 14 countries who have committed to the standard today to implement it and encourage other governments to follow their example.”  

The Web Foundation will continue to advocate for the adoption of best practice open data standards by more governments through mechanisms like the Open Data Charter, the Global Beneficial Ownership Register and the Open Contracting Data Standard. To stay up to date with our work on open data, please follow us on Twitter @webfoundation.

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